The 18th meeting of the Kazakh-Azerbaijani Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation was held

The 18th meeting of the Kazakh-Azerbaijani Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation was held in Nur-Sultan.

The IPC is co-chaired by Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan – Minister of Trade and Integration Bakhyt Sultanov from the Kazakh side, and Minister of Energy of the Republic of Azerbaijan Shahbazov Parviz Oktay oglu from the Azerbaijani side.

The meeting was attended by members of the Commission and representatives of ministries and departments of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The parties discussed a wide range of issues of cooperation in the field of trade and economic cooperation, fuel and energy complex, transport, agriculture, space and information and communication technologies, etc.

During the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Trade and Integration Bakhyt Sultanov noted that Azerbaijan has always been and remains a reliable partner of Kazakhstan in the South Caucasus, with which we are connected by common historical roots, centuries–old ties of friendship and constructive political dialogue. It should be noted that this year the countries celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.

"The course set 30 years ago is successfully developing under the leadership of Azerbaijani President Ilham Heydar Oglu and Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Kemelevich. For our part, we once again emphasize the traditionally friendly nature of bilateral relations between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, due to long-standing historical and cultural ties," Bakhyt Sultanov said.

Over the past year, mutual trade between the countries has grown 3 times, amounting to more than $330 million. According to the results of the first 5 months of this year, this trend maintains its dynamics, the external trade turnover has already increased by more than 3 times, amounting to $161.4 million.

For reference:

At the moment, exports of wheat and rice have increased, the supply of railway locomotives and flat rolled products has increased. Deliveries of new Kazakh goods to Azerbaijan are noted. These are ferrous scrap, rails, mineral fertilizers.

The import of Azerbaijani goods is also growing. Kazakhstan has started to purchase floating vehicles, pipes, pumps.

Bakhyt Sultanov noted that Kazakh companies are interested in establishing uninterrupted exports of industrial and agricultural goods to the Azerbaijani market.

"The Ministry of Trade and Integration is actively implementing an export acceleration Program, which provides for the training and support of exporters for export. Azerbaijan has been selected as the target market this year. 23 manufacturing companies of chemical, machine–building, food and light industries are entering an active phase of negotiations with Azerbaijani partners," the Deputy Prime Minister said.

In turn, Azerbaijani Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov noted that the "Comprehensive program for the development of cooperation between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2022-2026", which is at the stage of approval, "is of great importance in the context of deepening bilateral cooperation and will become a roadmap for the development of dialogue between the two countries." He also invited Kazakhstani investors to take advantage of the unique investment opportunities and favorable business conditions available in the Alat Free Economic Zone in Azerbaijan.

Also during the meeting, the Kazakh side raised the issue of changing traditional routes. According to Bakhyt Sultanov, the Caspian region plays an important role for Kazakhstan in the formation of commodity flows, being the only sea gate, and provides further access to major maritime trade lines through the Trans-Caspian route and the North-South corridor. In this regard, the Government of Kazakhstan has started implementing projects for the construction of a container hub on the basis of the Aktau port and the laying of second railway tracks on the Dostyk – Moynty section. These measures are designed to increase the transit potential of Kazakhstan and the capacity of TMTM.

"In order to fully unlock the transit potential for cargo flows from China/Central Asian countries to Europe and back, it is important to start timely modernization of technical and tariff conditions in ports, which will serve as a driver of all trade and economic cooperation," Bakhyt Sultanov said.

Within the framework of the event, the work done since the 17th meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission held in Baku was reviewed. Also, a total of 14 sections were discussed as part of the protocol draft of the commission meeting.

At the end of the meeting, a protocol was signed on the results of the 18th meeting of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Kazakhstan. An agreement has been reached to hold the 19th meeting of the commission in Baku next year.